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"Aiki in Aikido" a continuing series.
August 14th to 15 9:00 am to 5pm
$175 both days $100 for Sat. only. Due to the material covered there will be no Sunday only attendance.

This was an invitation only closed seminar. I wasn't going to advertise this. Due to the ever increasing pressure of repeated request, (and because some of my people have offered to help) I am going to allow a few new people to attend.
Please note* I am really not interested in a one time meeting. If you do not have the means or ability to continue training, then I prefer not to even start.

This is part of a continuing series of seminars with people that have been training with me.

Materials Covered:

Methods to build the body frame to neutralize and cancel many of the foundational "principles" that are used in the Martial Arts to throw and lock the normal body frame.

How to learn to move from the center to negate telegraphing and to disrupt an opponents own body placement.

Understanding how body segments and then the whole body, can be used to create aiki effects on contact.

How these translate to weapon work to neutralize weapons at the point of contact and go right through

How to use the breath to support the body

Dress will be sweats or shorts and T-shirts. No Gis, No budo affiliated T-shirts please. This will be very informal, and casual, but I strongly urge you to bring a notebook.

Anyone interested may contact me here or at homeoffice@charter.net.
Do not contact Shobu Aikido Boston directly. Your application will be politely refused, and you will be redirected to contact me.

My sincere apologies to those interested for the late notice, I've been sick and just too busy to get the notice up. Please save the chastising comments for P.M.

Hello Allen
I feel the same- were I in your neck of the woods! You've got to have some excellent training opportunities there. I hope you are not getting lost in "form" without substance.
Hope to meet up one of these days
Dan

My impressions!
I have many; and it is still confusing to me, even now.
I reluctantly write/share this because I am nobody that anyone should listen to me... All I can offer is my honest thoughts and memories of the event. I can not, and do not speak from any position of authority; so... keep that in mind if you're reading this.

I will have to write this in a somewhat disjointed manner:

WOW!!
-Rab mentioned about how this was the best 200 bucks he ever spent. Massive Understatement. I do not know that you can 'buy' this information. If the opportunity presents itself; and you are curious; I do not believe that you could regret the experience. You would be wise to do background reading/research before you go though...use the search function ... search by author, in fact.

The People

I found Dan exceedingly generous. Passionate. Educated. Really caring. Very knowledgeable. Very strange feeling of déjà vu meeting him in the flesh; after so many stories and posts online. Very charismatic. Very effective. Very passionate. Very honest. Clear about presenting options. Never pushy. Never rude. Extremely funny. The time felt exceedingly precious, and it flew by. It was also exhausting being so far out of your own depth. It is clear Dan has reviewed and polished his syllabus.

Dan is amazing. Unbelievably slippery to try to push or throw him. He was overwhelming when he was coming at me. I would not want to _EVER_ have to fight that guy. I now understand about the "two-for-ones", or "three-for-ones" that Dan writes about and how they are possible. The supported body and way that he moves.. literally walks through you; and he .. was just *being* ...and it just cuts your space...and your posture...again and again..and he was not moving much..and definitely not committed to any weight or posture or overt waza that you can see. It is crushing. I did not go anywhere near full steam, (i.e. for me), as I would have been badly injured....so I cannot imagine what this is like in an encounter with another fighter going full bore into this. I mention all of this, as I believe it feeds into the expectation that having an aiki body gives you a lot of power, and power to choose...and opens up many possibilities to you. I would say this is true.

"You can not find Dan's center." I understand what this means now.

-After talking about shoulder use; I repeatedly (sneakily) 'copped a feel' and found Dan's shoulders relaxed. This, among many things that day, was very unexpected and counterintuitive.

-Pushing on Dan up against the wall ; a dantian rotation; and him walking off with me doing a full force push (i ain't no lightweight!) that was AMAZING.

-Having the team there to teach (and Dan kicking them in the pants to keep teaching, even when they were tired! GREAT!) was wonderful. Hearing the comments and the different ways each of them thought about it; and approached the work WAS FANTASTIC. I cannot underline this enough. I think people will understand the same thing in different ways....and you may find different people there who's understanding will catalyze your understanding or approach, at the very least.
-Specifically: I worked with Brian P., Mark Murray, Dan Harden, Don Soucy, Rob Liberti, This guy Jay (? funny, funny guy); also Bill Gleason, Stan Baker, Each as nice and as giving as the next. It was overwhelming to meet so many qualified; nice people. Hope I don't forget anyone.
-I was very impressed with the level of power I felt in others. Don S. Mark Murray. Rob Liberti. Bill Gleason especially. Also even in some guys who have been at it for only 1 year or so?
Also Bill Gleason was like a rock when he did aikido/waza to me. Inexorable.
That is what I thought Aikido should feel like!-Aiki: With regards to Gleason's Aikido, and Aiki; It reminded me of a post, long ago; that I saw that I'll quote here:here<:

Quote:

DH wrote:

Aikido should just be.
It is not dependant upon the intent of others.
It should not be dependant upon what is offered -then you can be played.
Nor something dedicated -then you can be feinted and set-up.
Nor on a direct attack-what if you need to come to the aid of another being attacked.
But to be able to defend and stop or to sieze, control, counter, or stop irrespective of any energy or lack thereof.
My "Aikido" is not to be locked, nor thrown, nor choked, nor grabbed. But to lock, and throw and choke or grabb.

No man and no thing is unstoppable or immovable. But there is an incredible "gap" in the different approaches we may choose to express our intent and ability to stand.
Dan

-I believe this is what I witnessed when feeling Gleason's technique. I believe Dan's training will enable this type of Aikido.

The Training

-Aiki: It is everything I read about it; and more. It has to be felt. It could have been written more explicitly ; but why? "It Has to Be Felt"

-(My opinion; at this point; subject to change: ) The Training is among other things; how to hold your balance and energy in the body. How to move in a centrally supported manner from the hara. How to focus your intent.. How to work with your intent. This is where it gets fuzzy for me. - It is fading a bit from my mind; but my body remembers it. I DON'T WANT TO SIT DOWN AT HOME AND AT WORK. I WANT TO TRAIN...SOMEONE TO BE PUSHING ON ME. The gentle pushing is used as an input to help you find : "How to stand with Intent". The hands on teaching that goes on during the practice is priceless; and me posting more text here... will *not* help you find it. That small push from someone is critical; to be able to breathe that in; and use that to build around the centrally supported/balance.

-One thing that blew me away was the exercise where a partner is pushing on you and you accept push in...take it down to the ground. slide it across to the other guy...then in a series of passes; take it up to his knee.. then up to his waist, then up to floating rib. then up to the head, then open a path from shoulder to cross-body outwards and up...and then the other leg.... And then step. I wish i understood better what was going on. How do I accept push in? I think I ‘intuitively get it'....meaning ‘imagine it'..(read: Intent) and then ‘do it'. I struggle with the ‘do it'..which is why i am back to talking/asking about it often.
-One amazing thing was when i was pushing Brian P.(One of the guys who has only been doing this for one year or so);and he was taking me through it; i literally felt muscles and tissues in *me* lighting-up (I can't quite call it flexing) or being engaged when he put the intention in my knee, and then sequentially into the other parts.. THAT WAS AMAZING. As far as I can tell you; and myself; this was not the power of suggestion. I can hear someone saying it, even now ... No Way.

-I am frustrated by my inability to do (..many things:::among them: ) the Ten Chi exercise with one arm up and one arm down; and buddy pushing on you from the side. It (i.e. the ability to *do* what's being shown) is definitely introduced to you; and you can catch the feeling of 'doing' or 'being' these things...but it is almost impossible to stabilize what you are doing. No way can I do this reliably. I have been told that the solo work will enable these (and more) 'aiki-effects'. There were, however, guys that could demo this 100% of the time; so it is clear to me that skill with this is attainable.

-I will echo what has been said: It is almost completely inconceivable that you could invent or discover this yourself. I would have liked to have thought so beforehand. You will be explicitly told and shown what to do; and even so; it will be very difficult for a newbie to hold or maintain it. Even the most seemingly simple staple of things.. such as stabilizing the body with the dantian...(words are failing me, as you see)

Health benefit for me

My primary body problem was seriously affected/fixed temporarily by the 2 days of training. The R. Big toe, to the arch of the r. foot; to the r. ilio-sacral joint; to the r. scapula; to the r. side of my neck. I FEEL TOTALLY JACKED UP; AND FILLED OUT. My feet feel chunky and stable. Hip area & sacrum is floating properly. This is great. I feel I can twist internally along the bones; and stay "packed". I can literally feel the arch of my foot (lateral arch. combining with the medial arch) how it leads to the femur in the acetabulum floating (I had lost this!) and how this couples to the sacral pump. I was railed on one side..but the 2 days training; and Mon/Tues here changed it. Already. No B.S.. I could not find out how to do this in years...and 2 days of gentle pushes and mental prompts changed it. All. At. Once. Since the 2 days of training; things are getting consistently and constantly better for me. I cannot tell you how much value this *alone* has to me. Since then; it has been constant improvement on this issue for me. I won't stop practicing. It kinda can make you obsessive.. I can see that already.

Other Highlights

-Gleason did a ‘carry' of my contact point and I still am not sure what he was doing. I think he moved with structure; and simply moved the ‘contact point' while winding/spiraling. Honestly; I still have yet to figure that one out. The movement was effortless against my force; and very compelling for me to move and track with ...again; the word inexorable seems appropriate. The students at that dojo are very lucky, I think.

-It was wonderful how the experienced guys were helping Dan to go around and teach.

-Time was so precious... I was pissed off at my inability to focus all day as intensely as I wanted to. I felt at times; like I totally forgot what I was supposed to start practicing. I was reminded afterwards that: "the mind gives up before the body". I now understand that as well.

-I was impressed that there was a focused syllabus and specific nomenclature for terms amongst you all. Kept me on my toes. I liked that it was 100 miles an hour constantly....that there was no babying or playing up stuff. It was catch what you can.

-I really appreciate the solo exercises. I really like when Dan said: "Don't get tired of this". Really highlighted what he saw as important.

-I wasn't too sure what to expect...but you guys were amazing; and the weekend was phenomenal. Still a bit dizzy. Transitioning to actually moving and powering waza with this is daunting... And yet...what I saw.and felt.. Surely possible.

-They were all so generous and kind. I mentioned this already; but this comes across in spades; and helps make the whole thing so special. Valuable and memorable. Heck of a memory I will not forget; and a serious kick start intro to building IP/aiki.

The question remains, "Just how Alien is this?". If it's Alien and a *new* thing to learn; so be it. In response to this point, my friend wrote this to me (and I thought it worth repeating here):

Quote:

Why do you think that all the really good martial artists of Japan looked up, admired, and wanted to learn from Takeda, Sagawa, Ueshiba, Kodo? That these premiere martial artists got one encounter with the Aiki Men and knew that they'd experienced something completely different and alien to them. IP/Aiki is *THE* martial secret in the Japanese and Chinese arts. And the IP/aiki men who could use it in freestyle environments with weapons were extremely good. I can now see that it isn't "natural". It is very "alien" to most martial artists. A complete rebuilding of the body and mind. Well worth it in the end.

The detailed technical knowledge of what and how was great. Unlike any ANY aikido class I ever went to. You guys may well be making history. It was awesome. I want to practice more with you guys.

My impressions!
I have many; and it is still confusing to me, even now.
I reluctantly write/share this because I am nobody that anyone should listen to me... All I can offer is my honest thoughts and memories of the event. I can not, and do not speak from any position of authority; so... keep that in mind if you're reading this.

I will have to write this in a somewhat disjointed manner:

WOW!!
-Rab mentioned about how this was the best 200 bucks he ever spent. Massive Understatement. I do not know that you can 'buy' this information. If the opportunity presents itself; and you are curious; I do not believe that you could regret the experience. You would be wise to do background reading/research before you go though...use the search function ... search by author, in fact.

The People

I found Dan exceedingly generous. Passionate. Educated. Really caring. Very knowledgeable. Very strange feeling of déjà vu meeting him in the flesh; after so many stories and posts online. Very charismatic. Very effective. Very passionate. Very honest. Clear about presenting options. Never pushy. Never rude. Extremely funny. The time felt exceedingly precious, and it flew by. It was also exhausting being so far out of your own depth. It is clear Dan has reviewed and polished his syllabus.

Dan is amazing. Unbelievably slippery to try to push or throw him. He was overwhelming when he was coming at me. I would not want to _EVER_ have to fight that guy. I now understand about the "two-for-ones", or "three-for-ones" that Dan writes about and how they are possible. The supported body and way that he moves.. literally walks through you; and he .. was just *being* ...and it just cuts your space...and your posture...again and again..and he was not moving much..and definitely not committed to any weight or posture or overt waza that you can see. It is crushing. I did not go anywhere near full steam, (i.e. for me), as I would have been badly injured....so I cannot imagine what this is like in an encounter with another fighter going full bore into this. I mention all of this, as I believe it feeds into the expectation that having an aiki body gives you a lot of power, and power to choose...and opens up many possibilities to you. I would say this is true.

"You can not find Dan's center." I understand what this means now.

-After talking about shoulder use; I repeatedly (sneakily) 'copped a feel' and found Dan's shoulders relaxed. This, among many things that day, was very unexpected and counterintuitive.

-Pushing on Dan up against the wall ; a dantian rotation; and him walking off with me doing a full force push (i ain't no lightweight!) that was AMAZING.

-Having the team there to teach (and Dan kicking them in the pants to keep teaching, even when they were tired! GREAT!) was wonderful. Hearing the comments and the different ways each of them thought about it; and approached the work WAS FANTASTIC. I cannot underline this enough. I think people will understand the same thing in different ways....and you may find different people there who's understanding will catalyze your understanding or approach, at the very least.
-Specifically: I worked with Brian P., Mark Murray, Dan Harden, Don Soucy, Rob Liberti, This guy Jay (? funny, funny guy); also Bill Gleason, Stan Baker, Each as nice and as giving as the next. It was overwhelming to meet so many qualified; nice people. Hope I don't forget anyone.
-I was very impressed with the level of power I felt in others. Don S. Mark Murray. Rob Liberti. Bill Gleason especially. Also even in some guys who have been at it for only 1 year or so?
Also Bill Gleason was like a rock when he did aikido/waza to me. Inexorable.
That is what I thought Aikido should feel like!-Aiki: With regards to Gleason's Aikido, and Aiki; It reminded me of a post, long ago; that I saw that I'll quote here:here<:
-I believe this is what I witnessed when feeling Gleason's technique. I believe Dan's training will enable this type of Aikido.

The Training

-Aiki: It is everything I read about it; and more. It has to be felt. It could have been written more explicitly ; but why? "It Has to Be Felt"

-(My opinion; at this point; subject to change: ) The Training is among other things; how to hold your balance and energy in the body. How to move in a centrally supported manner from the hara. How to focus your intent.. How to work with your intent. This is where it gets fuzzy for me. - It is fading a bit from my mind; but my body remembers it. I DON'T WANT TO SIT DOWN AT HOME AND AT WORK. I WANT TO TRAIN...SOMEONE TO BE PUSHING ON ME. The gentle pushing is used as an input to help you find : "How to stand with Intent". The hands on teaching that goes on during the practice is priceless; and me posting more text here... will *not* help you find it. That small push from someone is critical; to be able to breathe that in; and use that to build around the centrally supported/balance.

-One thing that blew me away was the exercise where a partner is pushing on you and you accept push in...take it down to the ground. slide it across to the other guy...then in a series of passes; take it up to his knee.. then up to his waist, then up to floating rib. then up to the head, then open a path from shoulder to cross-body outwards and up...and then the other leg.... And then step. I wish i understood better what was going on. How do I accept push in? I think I ‘intuitively get it'....meaning ‘imagine it'..(read: Intent) and then ‘do it'. I struggle with the ‘do it'..which is why i am back to talking/asking about it often.
-One amazing thing was when i was pushing Brian P.(One of the guys who has only been doing this for one year or so);and he was taking me through it; i literally felt muscles and tissues in *me* lighting-up (I can't quite call it flexing) or being engaged when he put the intention in my knee, and then sequentially into the other parts.. THAT WAS AMAZING. As far as I can tell you; and myself; this was not the power of suggestion. I can hear someone saying it, even now ... No Way.

-I am frustrated by my inability to do (..many things:::among them: ) the Ten Chi exercise with one arm up and one arm down; and buddy pushing on you from the side. It (i.e. the ability to *do* what's being shown) is definitely introduced to you; and you can catch the feeling of 'doing' or 'being' these things...but it is almost impossible to stabilize what you are doing. No way can I do this reliably. I have been told that the solo work will enable these (and more) 'aiki-effects'. There were, however, guys that could demo this 100% of the time; so it is clear to me that skill with this is attainable.

-I will echo what has been said: It is almost completely inconceivable that you could invent or discover this yourself. I would have liked to have thought so beforehand. You will be explicitly told and shown what to do; and even so; it will be very difficult for a newbie to hold or maintain it. Even the most seemingly simple staple of things.. such as stabilizing the body with the dantian...(words are failing me, as you see)

Health benefit for me

My primary body problem was seriously affected/fixed temporarily by the 2 days of training. The R. Big toe, to the arch of the r. foot; to the r. ilio-sacral joint; to the r. scapula; to the r. side of my neck. I FEEL TOTALLY JACKED UP; AND FILLED OUT. My feet feel chunky and stable. Hip area & sacrum is floating properly. This is great. I feel I can twist internally along the bones; and stay "packed". I can literally feel the arch of my foot (lateral arch. combining with the medial arch) how it leads to the femur in the acetabulum floating (I had lost this!) and how this couples to the sacral pump. I was railed on one side..but the 2 days training; and Mon/Tues here changed it. Already. No B.S.. I could not find out how to do this in years...and 2 days of gentle pushes and mental prompts changed it. All. At. Once. Since the 2 days of training; things are getting consistently and constantly better for me. I cannot tell you how much value this *alone* has to me. Since then; it has been constant improvement on this issue for me. I won't stop practicing. It kinda can make you obsessive.. I can see that already.

Other Highlights

-Gleason did a ‘carry' of my contact point and I still am not sure what he was doing. I think he moved with structure; and simply moved the ‘contact point' while winding/spiraling. Honestly; I still have yet to figure that one out. The movement was effortless against my force; and very compelling for me to move and track with ...again; the word inexorable seems appropriate. The students at that dojo are very lucky, I think.

-It was wonderful how the experienced guys were helping Dan to go around and teach.

-Time was so precious... I was pissed off at my inability to focus all day as intensely as I wanted to. I felt at times; like I totally forgot what I was supposed to start practicing. I was reminded afterwards that: "the mind gives up before the body". I now understand that as well.

-I was impressed that there was a focused syllabus and specific nomenclature for terms amongst you all. Kept me on my toes. I liked that it was 100 miles an hour constantly....that there was no babying or playing up stuff. It was catch what you can.

-I really appreciate the solo exercises. I really like when Dan said: "Don't get tired of this". Really highlighted what he saw as important.

-I wasn't too sure what to expect...but you guys were amazing; and the weekend was phenomenal. Still a bit dizzy. Transitioning to actually moving and powering waza with this is daunting... And yet...what I saw.and felt.. Surely possible.

-They were all so generous and kind. I mentioned this already; but this comes across in spades; and helps make the whole thing so special. Valuable and memorable. Heck of a memory I will not forget; and a serious kick start intro to building IP/aiki.

The question remains, "Just how Alien is this?". If it's Alien and a *new* thing to learn; so be it. In response to this point, my friend wrote this to me (and I thought it worth repeating here):

The detailed technical knowledge of what and how was great. Unlike any ANY aikido class I ever went to. You guys may well be making history. It was awesome. I want to practice more with you guys.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out. Thanks Dan. A lot.

Good Luck With Your Training.
Sincerely,
Josh P.

Hi Josh,

Glad you were able to make that seminar - now you have a little more insight into what Dan and those who train with him post about here; albeit the posts only skim the surface of what really is going on - but you know that now and you also have a better understanding of the term 'you just have to feel it'

Sorry, I could not make that seminar and meet you in person - but you did get a chance to train with some my favorite Dan students like Rob, Mark, Don, and Bill...

Hi Joep,
I can't really talk about details till I get a better handle on these things. If you want to ask Dan though..go ahead. I am out of my depth here; but I can say that you hit on some of the points. I know you have a background in this stuff....practice is so hard to discuss, don't you find? (and of questionable value too...)

Anyway; I'll let the review stand on it's own...flawed as it is..
Josh

Glad you were able to make that seminar - now you have a little more insight into what Dan and those who train with him post about here; albeit the posts only skim the surface of what really is going on - but you know that now and you also have a better understanding of the term 'you just have to feel it'

Sorry, I could not make that seminar and meet you in person - but you did get a chance to train with some my favorite Dan students like Rob, Mark, Don, and Bill...

Greg

Hi Greg,
Yes; I agree with what you wrote. I'm sorry to have missed you. Maybe next time.

I don't want to take up any more bandwidth in this thread...so I plan to bow out now.
All the best,
Josh

Hi Joep,
I can't really talk about details till I get a better handle on these things. If you want to ask Dan though..go ahead. I am out of my depth here; but I can say that you hit on some of the points. I know you have a background in this stuff....practice is so hard to discuss, don't you find? (and of questionable value too...)

Anyway; I'll let the review stand on it's own...flawed as it is..
Josh

Excellent review, Josh. Brought back a lot of memories and feeling.

Way to go!

David

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

Sorry for being persistent, but isn't talking about the exercises (besides practice, of course) an excellent way to get a better handle on these things?

I think the implication there is that there are actually people who you can talk to in person who truly understand what they are doing, if you really needed to talk to someone, and that you are best off talking to them. And that for us, well, we just need to actually do the work to build that understanding, rather than trying to discuss with other people who may understand even less, lest we be led astray or lead them astray.

Well, not to call out Josh too strongly, but after being urged by a number of us for a couple years now to go out and get hands on people, I'm curious how he'd go back and look at his writing and analysis "pre" getting hands on, versus how he'd think and look at "this stuff" afterwards.